Total War: Three Kingdoms – All Character, Types and Skills

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All Character, Types and Skills

Character Classes Overview

Character Unit Focuses

  • Strategists-Ranged Infantry/Artillery
  • Sentinel-Axe/Sword Infantry
  • Champions-Spear Infantry
  • Commander-Melee Cavalary
  • Vanguard-Shock Cavalry/Armor Piercing Infantry
  • Veteran
  • Healer
  • Scholar

Character Combat Roles

  • Vanguard
  • Dueling-Great
  • General Combat-Excellent
  • Sentinel
  • Dueling-Excellent at Tying up Generals
  • General Combat-Excellent at Survival
  • Champions
  • Dueling-Excellent
  • General Combat-Great
  • Commander
  • Dueling-Adequate
  • General Combat-Adequate
  • Strategists
  • Dueling-Weak
  • General Combat-Adequate
  • Veteran
  • Dueling-
  • General Combat-
  • Healer
  • Dueling-
  • General Combat-
  • Scholar
  • Dueling-
  • General Combat-

Class Suggestions

  • Strategists
  • Sentinel
  • Champions-where you need population growth
  • Commander
  • Vanguard
  • Veteran
  • Healer
  • Scholar

Class Exclusive Units

Strategists

  • Archers
  • Crossbowman
  • Heavy Crossbowmen
  • Trebuchet
  • Repeating Crossbowmen
  • Heavy Repeating Crossbowmen

Sentinel

  • Sabre Infantry
  • Jian Sword Guards*
  • Axe Band

Champion

  • Spear Guard
  • Heavy Spear Guard
  • Heavy Ji
  • Peasant Band
  • Spear Warriors

Commande

  • Jian Sword Guard Cavalry*
  • Sabre Cavalry

Vanguard

  • Peasant Raider
  • Raider Cavalry
  • Lance Cavalry

Scholar

Veteran

Healer

*This seems like a dumb name to me as Jian just means sword in Chinese, it’s like calling a unit katana swordsman, as katana refers to just any sword as does Jian, you can argue that Jian/katana refers to a specific type of sword, a short/medium sword, but then it’d be for other types of swords, like long Jian, or long katana (but that has a name already, no-dachi or tachi, depending on length), but in Chinese you just stick the word long in front of Jian the way you would put long in front of sword in English. I’m just nit-picking here, but basically, I’m saying they really should be called Jian Guards, similarly, the cavalry should be called Jian Guard Cavalry, not Jian Sword Cavalry, I kind of wish a super basic mod to change some of these names was available.

Non-Exclusive Units

Faction Unit unlocks automatically at rank 1/6
Protectors of the Heaven/Defenders of the Earth unlock upon Emperorship

Units Available to All:

  • Ji Militia
  • Archer Militia
  • Sabre Militia
  • Mounted Lancer Militia
  • Mounted Sabre Militia
  • Mounted Archers

–Pearl Dragons (Light Glaive Infantry)
–Yellow Dragons (Light Axe Infantry)
–Onyx Dragons (Archers)
–Jade Dragons (Heavy Spear Cavalry)

Character Skills and Buffs

Notes
Skills are broken down into:

Military
Buffs (effect/range/duration/cooldown)
Administrative

  • (Army)=Applies to the whole army, even if not commanding (the left-most character in the army)
  • (Retinue)=Applies to all units under this character’s command
  • (Commanding)=Applies only if the character is the commanding general (the left-most character in the army)
  • (Administrator)=Applies only if administrating a settlement
  • (Self)=Applies only to Character
  • Assignment: ABCDEFG=Assignment available for this character
    Any character with more than 100 in any attribute automatically becomes legendary, this allows them to have “Resiliance” (Meaning they are wounded instead of killed when defeated in battle but need a certain number of turns to recover, and more turns to regain their resilience)
  • You can assign a character as a general in the field even if they’re an administrator but not if they’re on assignment

Abbreviations
[[list]

  • FW,BOI,FL/PM/H-(faction-wide, but only if faction leader, prime minister or heir)
  • LoS-Line of Sight
  • RoF-Rate of Fire
  • AP-Armor Piercing

Strategist

  • Judgement (+25% ranged damage (Retinue)/+1 Trade Agreement (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8水
  • Composure (Fire Arrows (Retinue)/Night Battles (Army) +8水
  • Precision (+10% Ranged AP damage (Army)/RoF (Commanding) +8金
  • Resourcefulness (+10 military supplies (in enemy territory)/Flaming Shot (Retinue) +8
  • Patience (Increased wall damage/+25% Capture Chance) +8木
  • Guile (Guerilla Deployment (Retinue)/+25% Ambush Chance) +8水
  • Perception (Ignore Forest Penalties (Retinue)/+25% of Avoiding Ambush (Army) +8土
  • Reach (+25% Campaign Movement Range (Commanding)/+1 Army (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8火
  • Intuition (+25% evading capture (Self)/+15 % Income from Industry (Administrator) +8金
  • Inspiring Surge (-2s CD (Friendly)/50m/1s/1s) +4水/火
  • Stifling Deluge (+5s CD (Enemy)/50m/1s/4s) +4水/火
  • Wisdom of the River (-100% Evasion (Enemy)/Armor/50m/30s/120s) +4水/土
  • Scholarship (+10% Character Experience (Self)/+40% income from commerce/silk/spice (Administrator) +8水
  • Abundance (Assignment: Replenish Supplies/+5 Food Production (Administrator) +8木
  • Wisdom (Assignment: Reward the Filial & Incorrupt/+15 Reserves (Administrator) +8水

Sentinel

  • Zeal (+10% Melee AP (Army)/+40% Melee attack rate (Self) +8金
  • Perception (Ignore Forest Penalties (Retinue)/+25% of Avoiding Ambush (Army) +8土
  • Bravery (Charge Negation (Retinue)/+Immune to Fear (Retinue) +8金
  • Composure (Fire Arrows (Retinue)/Night Battles (Army) +8水
  • Precision (+10% Ranged AP damage (Army)/RoF (Commanding) +8金
  • Intensity (+25% charge speed (Retinue)/Increased Knockback Damage) +8火
  • Patience (Increased wall damage/+25% Capture Chance (Enemy Characters) +8木
  • Diligence (+5 Melee evasion (Retinue)/+25 bonus experience for units per season (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8金
  • Intuition (+25% evading capture/+15 % Income from Industry (Administrator) +8金
  • Adamant Resolve (+50% Melee evasion/50m/20s/60s) +4 金/木
  • Tenacity of Steel (+Melee damage (base/AP) 5/10/25/50/100% every 15s) +4 金/木
  • Tempered Deflection (+50% Range Block Chance/50m/20s/60s) +4 金/木
  • Stability (Unlocks Assignment: Counteract Corruption/+5 Public Order (administrator) +8土
  • Scholarship (+10% Character Experience (Self)/+40% income from commerce/silk/spice (Administrator) +8水
  • Understanding (Unlocks Assignment: Industrial Exploitation/+1 rank for recruits (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8金

Champion

  • Patience (Increased wall damage/+25% capture chance) +8木
  • Guile (Guerilla Deployment (Retinue)/+25% Ambush Chance) +8水
  • Consideration (Encourage/+50% reinforcement range (Commanding) +8木
  • Vengeance (+10 Morale in Owned Territory/Scare) +8火
  • Endurance (+Fatigue Resistance (Retinue)/-50% attrition (Commanding) +8木
  • Intuition (+25% evading capture/+15 % Income from Industry (Administrator) +8金
  • Mobility (+25% Running Speed (Retinue)/+10 morale (Commanding & Attacking) +8土
  • Trust (+10% Armor for Spear Infantry (Retinue)/+20% Income from Peasantry (Administrator） +8木
  • Reach (+25% Campaign Movement Range (Commanding)/+1 Army (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8火
  • Earthen Rampart (+900% Charge Resistance/50m/Passive) +4 金/木
  • Blinding Fury (15k splash damage/10s/60s) +4木/+4土
  • Flames of the Phoenix (7.5k splash damage/10s/30s) +4 金/火
  • Abundance (Unlocks Assignment: Replenish Supplies/+5 Food Production (Administrator) +8木
  • Wisdom (Unlocks Assignment: Reward the Filial & Incorrupt/+15 Reserves (Administrator) +8水

Commander

  • Mobility (+25% running speed (Retinue /+10 morale (Commanding & Attacking) +8土
  • Intensity (+25% charge speed (Retinue)/Increased Knockback Damage) +8火
  • Meditation (Unbreakable (No Morale Loss/Never Routs)/+10 Morale (Commanding & Defending) +8土
  • Zeal (+10% Melee AP (army)/+40% Melee attack rate (self) +8金
  • Perception (Ignore Forest Penalties/+25% of avoiding ambush) +8土
  • Flexibility (+5% Replenishment (Commanding)/-25% redeployment cost (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8木
  • Composure (Fire Arrows (Retinue)/Night Battles (Army) +8水
  • Dignity (Disciplined (No morale penalty on general loss and can rally more often/+5 faction support (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8火
  • Nobility (+20% ranged block chance for Melee cavalry (Retinue)/+1 Assignments (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8土
  • Earthen Rampart (+900% Charge Resistance/50m/Passive) +4 金/木
  • Blinding Fury (15k splash damage/10s/60s) +4 木/土
  • Flames of the Phoenix (7.5k splash damage/10s/30s) +4 金/火/土
  • Understanding (Unlocks Assignment: industrial Exploitation/+1 rank for recruits (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8金
  • Clarity (+50% LoS/-25% building upkeep (administrator) +8土

Vanguard

  • Vengeance (+10 Morale in Owned Territory/Scare) +8火
  • Endurance (+Fatigue Resistance (Retinue)/-50% attrition (Commanding) +8木
  • Fury (+25% Charge (Retinue)/+10 Morale (in Enemy Territory) +8火
  • Mobility (+25% running speed (Retinue /+10 morale (Commanding & Attacking) +8土
  • Intensity (+25% charge speed (Retinue)/Increased Knockback Damage) +8火
  • Guile (Guerilla Deployment (Retinue)/+25% Ambush Chance) +8水
  • Zeal (+10% Melee AP (Army)/+40% Melee attack rate (self) +8金
  • Reach (+25% Campaign Movement Range (Commanding)/+1 Army (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8火
  • Flexibility (+5% Replenishment (Commanding)/-25% redeployment cost (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) +8木
  • Passion (+25% Melee damage for all shock cavalry (Retinue)/Unlocks Assignment: Conscription) +8火
  • Dignity (Disciplined (No morale penalty on general loss and can rally more often/+5 faction support (FWBOI,FL/PM/H) +8火
  • Flames of the Phoenix (7.5k Splash Damage/10s/30s) +4金/火
  • Final Rush (+50% Speed/Charge Speed/Passive) Enabled if battle outcome decided 4金/火
  • Roar of the Beast (-18 morale/50m/15s/60s) +4木/火
  • Clarity (+50% LoS/-25% building upkeep (Administrator) +8土

Army Composition Considerations

Deployment Restrictions

  • 6 Characters
  • 36 units

Army Composition Considerations

Since can only bring six slots and 36 units, can’t bring 36 units if not all six retinue slots are full, hence should always fill them out, however unsure if unit specialization should be considered a hard rule

Campaign Considerations

  • Better to have more armies than to have concentrated doomstacks
  • You only need to beat the enemy, not have invincible troops
  • BUT having more powerful troops means fewer casualties and more campaigning

Unit Thoughts

  • Spear Infantry REFLECT Charge Damage that alone makes them worth it
  • Heavy isn’t always better or worth it, for example:
    Heavy Crossbowman have more armor, but not more damage, and are more expensive
  • Spear vs Halberd Cavalry Difference-Spears have more AP Damage, whereas halberds

Class Thoughts

Commander

  • Charge/Speed bonuses
  • High Morale (However, Champion is probably better at holding with troops due to fatigue resistance and more armor)
  • Also, cavalry are fast, BUT have much lower damage than assault troops, flanking cavalry might be worth it for cycle charging, but are useless in a siege

Sentinels

Can recruit Assault Troops, have charge speed/bonus, and increased melee damage

Champions

Get bonus movement range, increased armor, fatigue resistance, and morale, should be leading army too since they have increased movement range

Commander

  • Charge/Speed bonuses
  • High Morale

Other

  • I just find it personally confusing/frustrating how
  • Champion’s combat role is to murder everything in sight
  • BUT their units are designed to hold their ground (spears)
  • Sentinel’s combat role is to tie up enemy generals or troops
  • BUT their units are designed to kill lots of enemy troops (sword/axe infantry)
  • SO you’d THINK that the spears would be given to the sentinel NOT the champion!
  • You could argue that the sentinel’s troops job is to “tie up” the enemy units by engaging them, as they are labelled frontline troops, BUT why would spear infantry, a unit designed to stop cavalry and hold the line be associated with the champion? (who is chopping everybody up)
  • Maybe they’ll patch/change this in the future, or there’s some other design reasoning here that I’m not seeing

Character Types

Each Character has a type assigned to them which increases/decreases attributes and gives other traits
Please note that the previous abbreviation (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H) will be used here as well

  • Magistrate
  • +5 金
  • +5 水
  • +5 土
  • +5% income from all sources (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H)
  • Admires-Ambition/Intelligence
  • Hunter
  • +5 木
  • +10 火
  • +5 military supplies in enemy territory (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H)
  • Commends Physical Ability/Flexibility
  • Scout
  • +5 木
  • +5 火
  • +5 土
  • +50 commandery Line-of-Sight (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H)
  • Respects Caution
  • Wary of Zeal
  • Dislikes Carelessness
  • Advisor
  • +10 水
  • +5 土
  • +10% Character XP (FW,BOI,FL/PM/H)
  • Respects-Patience/Intelligence

Character Attributes

Scholarly

  • +4 金/水
  • +25% Experience (Self)
  • Admires Intelligence
  • Values Education

Brilliant

  • +6 金/水
  • +15% Ammunition for all units in the county
  • -30% Ammunition for all enemy units in the county
  • Admires Intelligence
  • Commends Physical Ability

Vengeful

  • +2木
  • +6火
  • Supports War
  • Supports Intimidation
  • Disregards Diplomacy

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